opinion on solaris 42

[oceancrossroads]

Hi ! i need opinion but i would like to have opinions of people how own or owned a solaris 42 before , i am looking at some solaris 42 between 75-79 . i would like to know your impression , how it sails , how fast ( or how slow ) it sails . What are the defaults/problems of the boat ? what to look for when looking at one It seems pretty hard to get info on those cats around the internet . We are a family of 5 that will be sailing for a year , so we found that the lay out of this cat is just perfect and size too . Since we dont have a lot of infos from reliable sources we are kinda stock .


thanks all for your help !!!!

[Sea hoss]

Low bridge draft, very strong, OK down wind. Sail area a bit small. I owned one, put it into survey and sailed it on coastal voyages. Extended the bows and sterns and achieved an increase in motoring speed from 6.9kts to 8.9 kts. Fuel tanks were mild steel.


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[Mr Micawber]

Re: Opinion on Solaris 42
We think the Solaris 42 is the best catamaran for our family cruising and liveaboard lifestyle. Ours was built in 1975 to the specifications of a meticulous German business man. We bought her in 1992. It was bigger than we had wanted but turned our perfect for all weather cruising and liveaboard with our two children, a boy and a girl.
We have refurbished her to close to original. We love the folding saloon table and the beautiful curved hardwood furniture, door arches and insulated headliners. With full headroom throughout she is ideal for short or tall!
The ketch rig with electric genoa furling makes it easy to sail in all weathers from the cockpit. She is equipped with genoa, main, stay and blister sails. She is a doddle sailing down wind and fairly close to the wind. The genoa helps pull the bow over on tacks. There are mast steps on both masts. We have renewed the rigging.
She is not a racing cat and we reckon an average 6kt though we have reached higher speed with wind and tide. We relied on strategy to beat competition to port in tidal seaways.
We cruised in northern latitudes so appreciated the removable cockpit bimini under the fibreglass and stainless canopy. The stern seating and table and large lazarette are ideal for al fresco dining. There is easy access from the wide decks to pontoons, dinghy or stern swim ladder.
It has a well laid hull with little sign of osmosis when stripped and inspected. She is now fully epoxied and Coppercoated The chain plates are securely mounted so there is no play or flexing.
It provides a stable ride in all weathers. We replaced the original Mercedes engines with twin Yanmar saildrives. There is a transparent water trap on each engine to avoid potential weed blockage There are two 60 gallon stainless fuel and water tanks in each hull.
The bow thruster allows simple docking even in windy conditions. We have anchor windlasses on both bows and stern anchors for bow-to mooring.
Ours came with Simrad Robertson autopilot and chartplotter that we recently updated to the integrated NMEA2000 system. We can sail a set course or in a set wind direction or follow bottom contours.
It has holding plate fridge/freezer (24VDC and 240VAC through a transformer). A gas 3 burner stove and oven and 24V microwave made cooking simple.
There is a 24VDC house battery bank charged by a wind charger and a twin 12VDC engine banks charged by solar. Both make us self sufficient. We have dual 12V and 24V mains chargers. We have a 24VDC-240VAC inverter.
The engines or immersion heater heat domestic water.
The German owner provided a full set of manuals, that we continued. It proves invaluable when spares were needed in some remote port.
We have davits for the dinghy and a boarding ladder that serves as a handy cycle rack. The Raritan electric toilet, approved by the US CG for discharge into the Great lakes, proved a boon in crowded harbours or marinas.
We found we could cruise safely and arrive in relative comfort. It was especially comfortable when we over-wintered in St Kathryn’s Dock near Tower Bridge. It the perfect London flat at an affordable price!
The shallow draft made it easy to go through the mast-up routes through the Netherlands and Gota Canal and Swedish Lakes.
From experience with our earlier Caribbean sailboat we expect the Solaris 42 would be equally at home there.
If your needs are like ours this could be the ideal boat.
If you do not succeed with the one you found, we are getting ours ready for sale now the children have left home. We need to downsize. Hope this helps.